Students’ project to benefit families affected by disability

Latest News

August 19, 2015

On the
first day of Mech 400, students were
told that they had to find an industry partner willing to mentor them for their
major engineering project. So Trevor Grier headed straight to CanAssist, where
he had just completed a co-op term.

“I approached
CanAssist because I wanted to work on something that I knew would end up as a
functioning product and that would benefit people,” said Trevor. “Usually at
the end of an engineering project, you don't ever think about it again once
your class is over.”

The
timing was perfect. CanAssist had received funding to create a motorized lift
for manual wheelchairs, which the organization planned to begin developing in
the fall. Having a group of fourth-year engineering students work on an initial
prototype during the summer would provide a great starting point for the
project.

The
motorized lift is one of several new technologies to be developed by CanAssist
as part of CanStayHome. CanStayHome is an initiative funded by
the BC Ministry of Health that will help seniors with physical or cognitive
challenges stay in their own homes for as long as safely possible through the
use of innovative, easy-to-use technologies.

During
community focus groups CanAssist held earlier this year, the concept of a
motorized lift was mentioned as something that would be particularly beneficial
to older couples, in which one person uses a manual wheelchair and his or her
spouse is too frail to safely hoist it into a vehicle.

“CanAssist
provided the students with the basic requirements for the device and they came
up with the design,” said Mike Lewis, a mechanical design specialist at
CanAssist.

The
students – Richard Clark, Brad Perron, Hunter MacDonald, Steve Delorme and
Trevor – developed an aluminum wheelchair lift that is mounted to a trailer
hitch at the back of a vehicle. Comprised of a three-piece pivoting arm, the
device folds down to sit below the vehicle's licence plate when not in use.
Users attach a manual wheelchair to the device with a strap, then use the
controls to direct the chair into or out of the car's trunk.

“The
group obviously put a lot of work into it,” Mike added. “It's a good,
functional product and their initial work will be very useful to CanAssist.”

In
September, Trevor will begin another co-op term at CanAssist – the third of
four co-ops required to complete his degree. He's excited to have the chance to
work on the next iteration of the wheelchair lift and already has ideas about
improving the original design, such as altering the type of motor and changing
the strap so that it can lift more than just wheelchairs – for example, heavy groceries,
walkers or animal carriers.

“This is
why I chose UVic,” said Trevor. “Of all the universities I looked at, it was
the only one with an engineering school that has a strict co-op program. You
have to complete four co-ops during your degree. I didn't want to graduate
without that kind of hands-on experience.”